Train passengers have been warned to brace themselves for a triple whammy of rail strikes, which are set to cause misery for London commuters, holidaymakers, businesses and sports fans.
Members of the train drivers union Aslef will on Wednesday stage their latest walkout over pay and conditions, with further action planned on Saturday.
Workers who belong to the RMT, which represents conductors and station staff, are set to strike on Friday.
There is no end to the dispute on the horizon unions warned after negotiations crumbled.
UKHospitality has said the action will cost pubs, restaurants and hotels more than £130million in sales over half-term, on top of the almost £3billion lost during previous strikes.
The latest walkouts mean there are no national rail services in place between Manchester and London for the FA Cup Final between United and City at Wembley on Saturday. There are also no trains to Epsom Downs where the Derby is taking place on the same day.
Former Transport Secretary and Epsom and Ewell MP Chris Grayling said that disrupting Britain’s most prestigious flat race was a sign that “the unions are getting desperate”.
He told the Standard: “People will still find their way to Epsom. But the strikes are persuading people to abandon rail and in the end that will cost jobs.”
RMT members at Network Rail, including signallers and track maintenance workers, “overwhelmingly” voted to accept a revised pay offer earlier this year. It amounted to a 14.4 per cent wage rise for the lowest paid workers and 9.2 per cent for the highest paid.
But the agreement did not mean an end to the strikes misery because staff working for train companies are part of separate dispute. The Department for Transport has accused union leaders of blocking these members from having a vote on a similar offer.
A Government source said: “We have worked hard to meet with the union leaders, listen to their concerns and facilitate new pay offers that are fair and reasonable - but the union leadership continues to block their members from having a vote on these offers.”
However Aslef argue that Westminster and the 15 train companies it is in dispute with have not offered their drivers in England a salary increase since 2019. A spokesman said the Rail Delivery Group’s offer of a four per cent pay rise was “unfair” when “inflation is north of 10 per cent”.
Public services across the country continue to face waves of walk out as unions call for better pay and working conditions during the cost of living crisis.
On Thursday, Unite members from Guy’s and St Thomas’, including nurses, are set to strike. Junior doctors in England will take 72-hours of industrial action from 7am on June 14.
Workers at St Mungo’s launched a month-long strike on Tuesday after rejecting a “pitiful 2.25 per cent” pay offer.
Members of Unite mounted a picket line outside the homeless charity’s HQ in central London.
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said: “Charity workers who should be on the streets helping the homeless have reached breaking point.
“The workers are now taking a stand.”
